This gets a star and a half because while the magic system and the idea behind the world is cool, Kevin Hearn didn’t do a good job of pulling it off. 

I haven’t read any of the other books set in this world and I probably won’t because the characters and humor of this one were so goddamned stupid. 

The writing in parts is so bad it’s gag inducing. In one instance, he refers to a character that he beats the reader over the head with as insanely beautiful as drinking something “gorgeously” and then continues to belabor the point by telling us that this character could sell any liquid just by drinking it. 

The humor is juvenile and feels like it was written by someone in high school. Similarly, swears are interspersed awkwardly through the book like it was written by a kid who has just discovered the word “fuck”. 

I didn’t care or identify with any of the characters. The police in this book are idiots, even if they’re being manipulated by magic, and the main character, who we're supposed to identify with isn’t really a good person when you think about how often he lets his hobgoblin steal. 

Overall, bad writing, bad humor, and dumb characters get half a star from me. Hearn’s editor should have been more liberal with their red pen, because a lot of this book could have been edited down to make it better.